The Next Reel Film Podcast

“Get it up or I’ll cut it off.”
Roger Corman's Foray into Women in Prison Films
In 1971, Roger Corman's New World Pictures sought to capitalize on the success of the women in prison film 99 Women. Working with a low budget, they brought on director Jack Hill who, dissatisfied with the original script, hired Don Spencer to create a new screenplay that would inject more humor into what he considered a preposterous story. Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson – as we continue our member bonus Roger Corman series with a conversation about The Big Doll House.
Prison Break: Exploring Power, Agency, and Exploitation
The film presents an interesting balance between exploitation elements and female empowerment. While it includes expected genre tropes like mud wrestling and torture scenes, it also subverts expectations by putting men in subservient positions. We discuss how Jack Hill manages to smuggle bigger ideas about institutional corruption and colonial impacts under the guise of spectacle and genre conventions.
Behind Bars: Production and Performance
  • Pam Grier and Sid Haig deliver standout performances that elevate the material
  • The film's use of humor helps offset some of the more exploitative elements
  • Shot back-to-back with other prison films in the Philippines to maximize efficiency
  • Interesting character dynamics between the six main prisoners
  • The film's ending strikes a lighter tone compared to similar genre entries
Throughout our discussion, we explore how The Big Doll House fits into both Corman's broader production approach and Hill's filmography. While Andy prefers the more serious tone found in Women in Cages, Pete finds more value in this film's lighter touch. Despite its exploitation roots, the film manages to deliver entertainment value while sneaking in something of a commentary on power dynamics and institutional corruption. We have a great time talking about it, so check it out then tune in. The Next Reel – when the movie ends, our conversation begins!
Film Sundries
This is a member bonus episode. We'd love it if you became a member to support our show, but you’d love it because of everything you get. We have monthly member bonus episodes that only members can access. You also get other monthly member bonus episodes, access to members-only Discord channels, and early releases for every episode. Plus, no ads! And you get to vote on the movies we discuss in our members only episodes! What can we say? It pays to be a member. Learn more about supporting The Next Reel Film Podcast through your own membership — visit TruStory FM.

Creators and Guests

Host
Andy Nelson
With over 25 years of experience in film, television, and commercial production, Andy has cultivated an enduring passion for storytelling in all its forms. His enthusiasm for the craft began in his youth when he and his friends started making their own movies in grade school. After studying film at the University of Colorado Boulder, Andy wrote, directed, and produced several short films while also producing indie features like Netherbeast Incorporated and Ambush at Dark Canyon. Andy has been on the production team for award-winning documentaries such as The Imposter and The Joe Show, as well as TV shows like Investigation Discovery’s Deadly Dentists and Nat Geo’s Inside the Hunt for the Boston Bombers. Over a decade ago, he started podcasting with Pete and immediately embraced the medium. Now, as a partner at TruStory FM, Andy looks forward to more storytelling through their wide variety of shows. Throughout his career, Andy has passed on his knowledge by teaching young minds the crafts of screenwriting, producing, editing, and podcasting. Outside of work, Andy is a family man who enjoys a good martini, a cold beer, a nice cup o’ joe. And always, of course, a great movie.
Host
Pete Wright
#Movies, #ADHD, & #Podcasting • Co-founder @trustory.fm🎥 The Next Reel Family of #Film Podcasts @thenextreel.com🎙️ Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast @takecontroladhd.com📖 Co-author of Unapologetically ADHD • https://unapologeticallyadhdbook.com

What is The Next Reel Film Podcast?

A show about movies and how they connect.
We love movies. We’ve been talking about them, one movie a week, since 2011. It’s a lot of movies, that’s true, but we’re passionate about origins and performance, directors and actors, themes and genres, and so much more. So join the community, and let’s hear about your favorite movies, too.
When the movie ends, our conversation begins.

Pete Wright:

I'm Pete Wright.

Andy Nelson:

And I'm Andy Nelson.

Pete Wright:

Welcome to the next reel. When the movie ends

Andy Nelson:

Our conversation begins.

Pete Wright:

The big dollhouse is over. Sometimes, late at night, when it's real quiet, you can hear them honking.

Trailer:

Women locked behind walls of concrete and steel, guarded by barbed wire and guns in a tropical hell. They call it the big dollhouse.

Trailer:

I'm a long time woman.

Trailer:

There has never been a motion picture like the big dollhouse in color.

Pete Wright:

Sid Haig makes this movie. Sid Haig gets a full star for me on this movie. One full star is complete. It's got his name on it. What do you think?

Andy Nelson:

Yeah. I think he is. He's easily my favorite part of this movie. His, his character is just a very funny part, an addition to this. Like many of the elements with this movie, like, I question, why are there so many Americans just randomly, like, getting stuck in prison, you know, working in the countryside, selling stuff to prisoners, whatever they're doing.

Andy Nelson:

It it's a strange thing, but I was very happy to have him part of it.

Pete Wright:

There's a whole economy that we're not aware of, and I think the sad truth is this movie is probably truer now than ever before. Well I don't mean to get political, but there there you have it.

Andy Nelson:

Is it it was El Salvador, right, where they shot this? This

Pete Wright:

was shot actually in The Philippines.

Andy Nelson:

It was shot in

Pete Wright:

The Philippines. Yes. And, you never know. We just haven't gotten there yet. We just haven't gotten to The Philippines.

Pete Wright:

No.

Andy Nelson:

Yeah. Well, we'll we'll see. Good old Philippines. This is the, what, the third of these movies that Corbin, for his New World Pictures company was filming over there?

Pete Wright:

Yeah. What so what'd you what'd you think of it? Because last time, you liked Women in Cages. Yeah. I less so.

Andy Nelson:

That's that's one way of putting your opinion. Yes.

Pete Wright:

And then last night, I watched this movie, and then it was on Amazon, and I just let it play. I it auto played. And what did it play right after that? It played the big bird cage, which is effectively the same movie except for involves infiltration. Oh, infiltration and revolution.

Andy Nelson:

It's weird. I thought that was actually a Sesame Street movie. I thought it was a a cage where they put big bird. The big bird cage. Yeah.

Pete Wright:

The big bird cage. You're right. That's that's good. Actually, that's probably why they did that title. They thought this is gonna be a great way to get kids cash.

Pete Wright:

Oh, wow. And so you you could say, I'm I'm getting my sea legs with these women in prison films. So I wanna know what how you feel like this one stands, especially next to women in cages, which was terrible.

Andy Nelson:

I liked this one fine. It felt pretty straightforward. Like, it it just felt like a we're gonna make a a fun movie with some laughs and some sexiness and, women in in, stuck in a prison overseas, and that's kind of the story we're gonna get. And that's pretty much the story that we got. So it was fine.

Pete Wright:

I think I liked it better.

Andy Nelson:

It did it didn't it didn't feel like it was trying anything else.

Pete Wright:

Well, I don't know. I felt like there was more it there was more use of the tropes. Right? The ex the, like, exploitative tropes of nudity and violence and sadism.

Andy Nelson:

In this one?

Pete Wright:

Or In no. In the other one. In this one, when we got that, which was less of it, it wasn't used for titillation, but really, I think to to give these characters a chance to to more, I don't know, deftly, like, explore power and resistance and female agency. And in the in women in cages, I think it was it was done less less to good effect. So I I actually liked this more than the last one.

Pete Wright:

I come in I come in a vessel of optimism about this movie for you, Andy.

Andy Nelson:

We definitely have titillation in this one. Yep. Where it's done for titillation's sake. It sounded like you were saying, no. It wasn't done for titillation's sake.

Pete Wright:

No. I'm saying I'm saying there's less of it that is done explicitly for titillation, though it is definitely there.

Andy Nelson:

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's a fine movie. I am curious to, like, see how it how it fits with, The Big Birdcage, how it fits in kind of this whole cycle of the women in prison movies that Corbin and and New World Pictures was making. I don't know.

Andy Nelson:

I guess between the two, I feel like I ended up liking Women in Cages more because I actually felt like they were they were trying to say a little more with the story and everything. And this one, it just felt like a light fun movie. Interestingly, they both have kind of similar endings, but this one, it just felt like a laugh ending, you know, like, oh, and she's back in prison. Like, it just it didn't feel like they were doing anything serious.

Pete Wright:

Okay. You just nailed it. You just nailed why I like it. It's like the the movie and I think this is this is partly due to the the fact that we don't have the crazy band of bandit hunters from the last movie that that ended up on that really dark ending that I did not care for. And this one, it's like the movie kinda knows what it is.

Pete Wright:

It's in terms of exploitation with comedy, I think that's what that's when it started to play for me. And so I I could almost hear the goofy banjo stinger. You know? It's just, okay. We've been looking for you.

Pete Wright:

We're going back to prison. Ding ding ding ding ding ding. Like, I that's that was that was totally present for me. So I think the funnier it was, the better it worked for for me, this movie. So I think the lightheartedness, especially the lightheartedness we get with with Fred and Harry, which was weird lightheartedness.

Pete Wright:

Like, they have this exchange repeatedly where they they are waiting not to rape a prisoner, but to be raped by one of the prisoners. Like, they aspire to that, and then it happens, Andy.

Andy Nelson:

Yeah. Yeah.

Pete Wright:

What is going on with this movie? That they play that for laughs. So there's some touch and go stuff in this movie, but you definitely definitely, I think it it trying to do less, it does more.

Andy Nelson:

Well, yeah, I don't think so. I I think in trying to do less, it's it is less.

Pete Wright:

It does exactly less. Yeah.

Andy Nelson:

Alright. Listen up, you jailbirds and cinematic deviants. It's Andy. And that was just a taste of the forbidden fruit that is our members only discussion of Jack Hill's scandalous masterpiece, the big dollhouse. What you just heard was a tantalizing glimpse of our no holds barred dive into the seedy underbelly of the women in prison genre, but I'm afraid that's all you're gonna get.

Andy Nelson:

There's a whole cell block of bonus content waiting for you behind bars, and the only way to break in is by becoming a member. Imagine this, a vast unruly celluloid prison filled with exclusive episodes that'll make your shackles quiver. As a member, you'll have the keys to unlock this kingdom of exploitation, and trust me, it's a wild ride. You'll get access to the entire library back catalog, not just from our show, but from all the shows that are part of the Next Real family of film podcasts, Sitting in the Dark, Cinemascope, The Film Board, Movies We Like, and, of course, The Next Real. That's a whole lot of sleaze to get your hands on.

Andy Nelson:

Every month, you'll sink your teeth into a brand new member bonus episode, each one a raw uncensored journey into the heart of cinema. You'll have ad free access to our entire library so you can riot your way through our back catalog like a dame on a rampage. And if that wasn't enough, we've got preshow and postshow chats that'll make you feel like you're right there in the mess hall with us, swapping stories and downloading contraband hooch. But here's where things get really wild. As a member, you'll have the power to call the shots.

Andy Nelson:

You'll get to vote on the films we discuss for our member bonus episodes, ensuring that they're always tailored to your depraved tastes. You'll have your own personal gang of celluloid rebels ready to stir up the perfect movie discussion just for you. And if you're itching to conspire with some fellow film outlaws, our Discord community is the place to be. A virtual hideout where cinephiles can gather to swap tales, share insights, and maybe even plan a few jailbreaks of their own. Just remember, leave your inhibitions at the door.

Andy Nelson:

So why be a mere spectator when you could be running the joint? Stage a breakout and head over to truestory.fm/join and sign up today. It's just $5 a month or $55 for a whole year. It's a small price to pay for a VIP pass to cinema heaven. And that, my fellow inmates, is where we'll have to leave you for now.

Andy Nelson:

If you wanna hear the full uncensored version of our riotous romp through the big dollhouse, you know what to do. Join the gang, become a member, and let's make a break for the sleazy sunset together. Trust me, it's a sentence you won't regret serving. Until then, keep on fighting the good fight, you beautiful degenerates.